BEING VEGGIE FOR A WEEK

For this week’s 1 Weeker I tried being a vegetarian. This is basically what happened:

I don’t know about you, but whenever I think of vegetarians, I always think that they’re missing out because they can only eat vegetables. (Looking back now, it’s stupid, I know.) So, for the past week, I became a vegetarian to see how wrong I really was.

On Monday, I started my morning by having porridge for breakfast. Standard. I’ve been doing that anyway. For lunch, I was on the train to London so I had a cheese and tomato panini. I would have had that anyway – I love cheese. Now dinner was the tricky part. Well, I say that, but…let’s read on. I was on my own on Monday night so I had the choice of getting food out of the freezer that my Mum had sent over or making something myself. As it was one of the first times ever that I’d have to cook for myself, I decided to make something. So I popped off to Sainsbury’s and bought Uncle Ben’s Golden Vegetable Rice, popped it on the stove with some water and hey presto, dinner was served. Ooh, I boiled a couple of eggs and had them, too, because why not.

Evaluation: I would probably have had all those bloody things anyway.

On Tuesday, it was my first day back at uni, so I ran out of the door (just a little late) and grabbed an egg and cress sandwich from the station for breakfast. At lunch, my friends and I went off to Vapianos and had the Arrabiato pasta, which, you guessed it, I would have gotten regardless of whether I was a vegetarian for the week or not, as it’s one of the only things that is Halal. For dinner, I had a bit of a pasta overload and went off to Sainsburys (holla at me if you want points on that nectar card) and picked up the Mushroom Ricotta, mmmmmm.

Evaluation: Would have gotten these things anyway. Again.

On Wednesday, I did the same thing and ran off to the station and picked up breakfast from there (student life, eh). I picked up a cheese and red onion sandwich. For lunch, I was on the train back home to Manchester, ready for the blogging event on Thursday, so had a cheese and tomato panini, again. (Someone please save me from the cheese!) For dinner, my Mum had made meat but there was leftover rice which my sister had made, so I munched on that rice.

Evaluation: This was when it was starting to get a tiny bit harder, as I was back home and didn’t have to cook myself any more.

On Thursday, I had a chapati and omelette for lunch (slept right through breakfast time, aah, perks of being at home). I would have had that anyway (just like every other thing, basically) and then went straight to the blogging event. I know it’s not relevant, okay, I just wanted to share that because it was fun. Ooh, and we somehow stumbled across another event so went to that, too. (I’ll have a post on them both very soon.) Anyway, we ordered takeout that night, so while everyone else was chomping on whatever chicken they had, I ordered chips. Just chips. The takeaway didn’t have anything vegetarian so I just had those and smothered ketchup all over them.

Evaluation:: I was a bit surprised that the takeaway didn’t have any vegetarian options, tbh. Well, maybe they did but I just didn’t realise…if not, then I’m shocked, as I’d have thought it would be quite easy to get a vegetarian option.

On Friday, I went off to town to do some shopping and get some work done. I skipped breakfast (silly me) and had a cheese panini from Costa. Can I just say that I think I need to go on some kind of cheese ban sometime soon, because I literally love it but it’s practically killing me! But yeah, back to the matter at hand, I went out for dinner with my sister and cousin once they’d both finished uni and we went to Lahores on the Curry Mile. I’ve been going for agessss and almost every single time I’ve been, I’ve had the chicken pasta. (Chicken, pasta and cheese – 3 of my favourite foods, in case you couldn’t tell.) I couldn’t figure out what to have but in the end I decided on the vegetable pasta. My sister and cousin decided to get chicken-y stuff, of course, and I could smell the beautiful aroma, but I stuck to my guns and had that vegetable pasta and it was actually delicious. It tasted the same as the chicken pasta, just without, you know…the chicken.

Evaluation: I felt like I was missing out a bit at this point, because I just love chicken. But at the same time, I wasn’t missing out too much, as I still got delicious food.

On Saturday morning my Dad and I were off back to London – should have done a week of travelling, really, shouldn’t I? I had porridge for breakfast and for lunch and dinner I basically repeated meals I’d had earlier in the week as I clearly put just so much effort into making my food. My mum had made some fish and sent it with us and it smelt gorgeousssssss but I resisted temptation and put it away…into the freezer, ready to eat on Monday.

Evaluation: The fish smelt really, really good, so I did contemplate having it (I know, sorry!) but I realised it wasn’t going anywhere so resisted the urge.

Today, on Sunday, I had toast for lunch, I’m surprised I didn’t have toast earlier in the week, tbh, as it’s one of my favourite foods. That says a lot about me, I guess, but…it is! I’ve been good recently and haven’t been having bread as much. I’ve been having lots of pasta and cheese though…but that’s a different story (it’s not, please help me!). I’m not sure what I’m having for dinner tonight but whatever it is, I promise you that it’ll be meat free as my week as a vegetarian won’t be over until midnight tonight – just like Cinderella! Or not…

From the last week, I’ve realised that vegetarians actually can eat pretty much anything and most of the things I have are suitable for vegetarians anyway. They can have pasta, rice, bread, cheese, eggs etc – it’s not just about vegetables, like I stupidly thought. And it isn’t even limited to those things. If I was a bit more creative with my food, I could have made some really nice stuff, like vegetable lasagne, mmmm. *Craving alert*

Just because being a vegetarian means not eating meat, it doesn’t mean being unable to eat other things. As I only have Halal food, like I said, most of the things I eat are suitable for vegetarians anyway.

I also learnt that just like being a vegetarian doesn’t mean eating vegetables all the time, it doesn’t necessarily mean being healthier, either. Now, there are obviously people that are healthy that eat meat and people that are healthy that are vegetarians, but being a carnivore or being a vegetarian doesn’t mean being healthier, as I definitely wasn’t a healthy vegetarian. Having said that, that’s probably just me and I doubt many vegetarians eat as unhealthily as I did…

So, all in all, I did feel like I missed out a bit as the takeaways had no vegetarian options, so I had to have chips and I also felt like I missed out because I love chicken, but that’s just me. To all the vegetarians out there, whatever your reason being that you don’t eat meat, I respect you and your decision and hope I didn’t offend you in any way.

Now that I’ve been a vegetarian for a week, I really want to find out more about being a vegan so will hopefully be a vegan for a week sometime soon – watch this space! Be sure to subscribe to be up to date with my 1 Weekers and my other posts, too.

Thanks for reading! Let me know your favourite food in the comments below and we can all crave together.

30 thoughts on “BEING VEGGIE FOR A WEEK”

I’m a bit surprised that the takeaway didn’t have any vegetarian options. It seems like everywhere you go nowadays that it is an option or is at least offered because people are more aware of it. Either way it does sound like you have a cheese problem so that may be a week of intervention for you! 😛 From what you wrote it seems like you sort of all ready are a bit vegetarian just from the meals you would normally eat. I love having my meat so I call myself a meatatarian. Thanks for sharing this post. It was a fun read! (:

I was so shocked, too! They might have had some & I hadn’t looked properly, as I’m sure pretty much everywhere has veggie options. I definitely need to go and a cheese ban- cheese is the love of my life but it’s so bad for me😩 I agree, I tend to eat mostly veggie options when I eat out anyway, but I definitely love my chicken lol! I’m so glad you enjoyed reading, thank you for your comment! Xxx

I became a vegetarian five years ago, and I remember thinking that I would probably give it up, but it stuck. I think one of the reasons why I haven’t gone back to meat is that I get to be really creative with my food now, and pinterest has never ending recipes I can try. After a few months, our bodies stop craving things as much. At this point, meat sauces smell better than meat, and I’m never tempted to eat it anymore.

I think what should be taken away from the idea of vegetarianism is that meat doesn’t need to be consumed for every meal. There are great meatless options!

I 100% agree – we don’t need to have meat for every meal & there definitely are great options that don’t involve meat at all! And Pinterest has great stuff for everything, everyone always tells me how inspirational it is, that I think I actually need to start using it! Thank you for your comment lovely xx

I was pescatarian for 3 years and it was amazing to see just how “normal” my eating was. There’s a huge misconception that you can’t eat ANYTHING unless you eat meat but it’s not true! It can definitely be hard when eating out (NYC is way better now about veggie options than it was while I was meat free) or when someone else is cooking for you but it really helps give you a new perspective on food! Hoping to see what happens when you try veganism for a week!

I definitely agree about the huge misconception, I feel like everyone should try it even if just for a few days just to see that there ARE options available out there that are meat free, healthy & still taste delicious!
Ans it definitely gives you a diff perspective & is so good to see things from a different angle from time to time, I’m excited for my week of veganism too however that’ll be in a little while as I want to make sure I set myself enough time aside &a that’s just not possible ATM with deadlines etc. Thank you for commenting lovely! Xxx

I think this may be genuinely one of my favourite premises for a blog – EVER! I’m also slightly jealous I didn’t come up with it myself as it is genius! I’m really looking forward to reading more of your weekly adventures.

This is such a great idea! I’ve always been curious as to what meals I would end up cooking if I went vegetarian, yet I don’t have the urge to go fully veggie so I usually push the thought to the back of my mind. Maybe I should give this a go!

Yayy I’m so glad you like it! Also, if you’re looking into vegetarianism or want to know more, I’d definitely recommend trying it for a few days just to see what kind of things you’d be making/what you could be making. Thank you for reading lovely xxx

Thank you Em, I’m so glad you liked it! Although it was only for a week, I feel like now I understand more about the options & how stupid it is to assume that vegetarians only eat vegetables, as there are SO many options out there! Thanks for reading lovely xxx

My Partner is Veggie so we always eat veggie meals at home cause it’s easier to cook for two that way! I don’t feel like I miss meat when I’m eating a balanced diet and getting everything the body needs!

I really liked this post but would have loved to see you getting a little more creative with your meals! So much cheese and carbs makes it sound unhealthy 😦 Don’t get me wrong though, I mean who doesn’t love ’em, I could scoff them all day!! Also would have been cool to see some pros and cons of the diet to give a balanced opinion. Either way! Glad you felt it was a positive experience 🙂

That’s so good to hear that, & exaxtly, if the body is getting everything it needs than that’s great! I definitely know what you mean, &I thank you for the advice, I think when I do a week as a vegan I want to be a lot more creative &I will actually set some time aside for meals plans etc, as with this one I didn’t really set myself that much time as I was constantly busy. Thank you for your comment lovely! Xxx

I’m so glad to hear that, that’s excellent! If they’re making you feel good then that’s the main thing, excited to see when/if you make the switch & how it goes, all the best! Thank you for reading lovely xx

As a lapsed veggie (raised as one, found chicken and fish in my teens) I totally get this. It is really easy to live on chips and other less healthy options, especially on the go. But there are loads of super tasty veggie options out there.

I love your blog! Well done for sticking to it even though you were tempted by other things. I don’t eat much meat myself even though I’m not vegetarian. I think that I would struggle to do the vegan for a week as that would mean no cheese! I look forward to your blog post on how you get on with that challenge

Thank you so much, that’s so kind! Thank you, I’m definitely getting better at self control (I think lol) &I that’s so true, however I’m sure there are alternatives like vegan cheese? Will have to look into that, excited to try being a vegan for a week too although it won’t be just yet as I want to set myself a good amount of time to be really creative & explore all the options. Thank you for reading & for your comment! Xxxx

Did you cook any vegetarian meals ? Maybe have a look for some of the really good veg curry recipes ? Kidney beans, chickpeas and nuts and pulses etc can be added and provide good protein. but yes in my opinion the best flavours can come from vegetables etc – roast mushroom tastes a little like meat – only better ! roast veg pasta is nice. Omelettes are nice too. One problem is that I think the dairy and egg industries can actually be cruel to animals – we need to put a stop to that and care for animals properly as if cared for they can provide lovely milk, cheese, butter, eggs etc. Good luck with the veggie eating.

I’m glad you liked it! That’s so interesting & I know what you mean, I love my meat, especially chicken lol! If you do choose to do this for a week, I’d love to see how you got on! Thank you for commenting Hun xx